News: Isles Qualify Six; Not Jack Hillen

According to Katie Strang of Newsday, the Islanders have sent qualifying offers to Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Micheal Haley, Ty Wishart, Jesse Joensuu, and Dylan Reese. They have not sent one to Jack Hillen, who will not become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Qualifying offers are either 5% or 10% raises on the player's current salary, depending on service time. The player can choose to accept the qualifying offer or negotiate a new contract with the team (so Comeau could still get a multi-year contract). From the team's perspective, the qualifying offer is a means to retain the players' rights as they hit unrestricted free agency.

Josh Bailey

CH: This was an obvious one. Whatever the Islanders want to do with Bailey, be it trading him or re-signing him to his QO or for a multi-year deal, retaining his rights was a necessity. The Islanders made a huge investment in Bailey for better or worse, so losing him for nothing at this point is unacceptable. We'll see how this situation plays out as it's one to watch over the course of the summer.

AT: A one year stopgap is fine with me. Especially with Strome coming into the mix, you have to think Snow realizes this is the last year for Bailey to prove himself worthy or he'll most likely be traded/let go of. He's a 9th overall pick, the Islanders may have screwed up his development by rushing him into the NHL, but he's worth hanging on to for a year or so just to see if he can blossom into the player we know he can be.

Blake Comeau

CH: Again, this one is a no-brainer. Comeau is coming off a 24-goal, breakout season and deserves a raise. This was more of a formality than anything else, as I'm pretty sure the Isles want to negotiate a multi-year deal with Comeau. However, there is speculation he could be on the market as well. Either way, the Isles had no choice but to retain his rights for the time being.

AT: A raise like this would only have him making $880,000. Most 24 goal scorers are making far more than that. He will receive a multiyear deal and a raise as he should be. Comeau could blossom into a 30 goal scorer this year. 

Micheal Haley

CH: We knew this was happening since Chris Botta broke the story on the fourth-liners a few weeks back. There's little doubt Haley will take his qualifying offer, which will be a 10% raise and play on a one-year contract next year. Expect that to be done fairly quickly.

AT: Mich-eal Hal-ey! -clap clap clap clap clap-. Obviously, I'm very excited to have him back as I'd mentioned so many times previously. Makes me all the more excited for rivalry games next year.

Jesse Joensuu

CH: Somewhat surprising, but I really like this. I mentioned before that I want to keep Joensuu around, as he is a solid call-up from the AHL level. He can play both wings and can slide in on any line, so retaining his rights was a smart choice. That said, the decision is now in Jesse's court. He does not have a spot in the NHL lineup, unless it is as a 4th line player (my guess is the Isles want an upgrade). It's going to come down to if he wants to stay in North America and play in the AHL with the possibility of the NHL or go home to play in Europe. Either way, the Isles did the right thing from an organizational standpoint with him. Like Haley, if he decides to stay, he'll take his qualifying offer.

AT: No problem with this. Wasn't a fan of his play but he's still growing and will spend most of his time in the AHL anyways. I could see him slotting into the 4th line with Haley, Hunter, Martin, etc when one of them goes down (most likely Hunter). 

Dylan Reese

CH: A very surprising move, in my opinion. The Isles acquired Reese in 2010 for Greg Moore, in what was supposed to be an AHL for AHL trade. Reese has already given them more than that, but was very ineffective at the NHL level last season. If this is to gain a veteran presence on the AHL backline, I am quite alright with this, as chances are he will be operating as the #9 or even #10 defenseman. But any extended time in the NHL would not be a good thing, so let's hope it doesn't come to that. He'll accept his qualifying offer without any problems.

AT: Was never a fan of Reese, had several of his bonehead moves on ice lead to goals while playing in the NHL. I've never seen him play in the AHL but obviously he performed at a decent level down there in order to get a QO, so I guess I'm okay with it.

Ty Wishart

CH: Not surprising at all. They gave up Dwayne Roloson for him, so they weren't just going to let him go immediately. Wishart has good size and showed signs of being a solid defenseman so keeping him at the NHL level this year as a #7 guy will be good for his development. Given the Isles injury problems over the past few years, he should be plenty of playing time. From there, the Isles will have a much better idea of where Wishart is headed. He'll accept his qualifying offer.

AT: Wishart has time to grow, but needs to work on his physical play. In the games he played while called up I liked what I saw and see a lot of potential in this kid. He may never be a top 4 D-man but he could be a nice role player in the future for a bottom pairing. Glad to see him return.

Jack Hillen

CH: The qualifying offer deadline is tomorrow, so this may not be a done deal yet - but it sure seems like it. So assuming they don't offer him a QO: This was a surprise to me. I thought they would extend him an offer as Hillen played very effective at times between 2009-2011. He is a very good depth guy as a #7-8 and could help a lot of teams out there. To me, this hopefully is a sign the Islanders are going to try and improve in the free agent market. Assuming Wishart accepts his qualifying offer, the Islanders will have 7 defensemen under contract (Streit, MacDonald, Hamonic, Eaton, Jurcina, Mottau, Wishart). They need to upgrade from that list and get a minute eating guy to play with Streit as the team transitions from lottery team to playoff contender. If that player has to come at the expense of Jack Hillen, that's okay. But if the team doesn't replace Hillen with someone better, then this is a failure. We should find out over the next few weeks. Best of luck to Jack.

AT: I liked Hillen, great guy, decent play on ice, nice puck rushing role, but to me this screamed "improvement" from Garth. Hillen's good, but with such a young core coming up and 7 D-man under contract, there was not much room for him. Hopefully this signals that Garth will go out and get a top 2 D-man (Scott Hannan is my hope) which will push everyone down a slot on the depth chart and place Hamonic with MacDonald on the 2nd pair and Eaton with Jurcina on the third pair. Katic does what Hillen does and IMO does it even better, so Hillen leaving is no big loss with someone like Katic in the system.

Speculation: Martinek Won't Be Back Next Season

New York Islanders

According to Chris Botta at Islanders Point Blank, the Islanders will most likely not bring defenseman Radek Martienk back to Long Island next season. Martinek has been an Islander his entire career, since 2001-02 and has played 453 games for the team. Botta implies that Snow may be looking for an upgrade on the defensive corps in free agency, which begins July 1.

CH: To me, this is the most prudent move by Snow and the Islanders. There is no question Martinek was a very good Islander - he played here for a long time at a high level. But he is getting up there in age, and he's always had questions about his durability. The Islanders already have 6 defensemen under contract for next season: Mark Streit, Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, Andrew MacDonald, Travis Hamonic, and Mike Mottau. They also have three restricted free agents in Ty Wishart (will be back), Jack Hillen (debatable), and Bruno Gervais (extremely unlikely), not to mention prospects such as Calvin de Haan and Matt Donovan, who are just a little Bridgeport seasoning away from potentially making an NHL impact.

The Islanders, without question, need to upgrade their defense. The team finished 27th in goals against last season, which is not good enough. With Martinek as a free agent, he is the easiest to let go, as he is a fringe top-4 guy, but more likely a 3rd pairing guy on good teams. So while guys like de Haan and Donovan develop, the team needs to bring in a top-4 guy like Eric Brewer (reportedly close to an extension with Tampa Bay), who will be here for the next few years as the team transitions from lottery team to playoff contender. Martinek does not fit that profile. That said, keeping the door open is also smart. If the Islanders happen to strike out in free agency on the back end, bringing in Martinek for one more year will make sense. Either way, the team cannot go into next season with the same D-corps as this season. Martinek will land on his feet either in the NHL or in Europe, and I wish him the absolute best.

AT: While Martinek was, quite amazingly, the most healthy D-man last year, it's time for the Isles to move on. He's a solid D-man but the Isles NEED to get better, and with the possibility of a top 4 d-man coming in and a bottom pairing of Eaton and Jurcina with Hillen and Mottau as the 7 and 8, there's just very little room for Martinek. I see Garth going hard for someone like Scott Hannan if he fails to draft Hamilton with the 5th pick. Martinek was a great guy and nothing but nice and I wish him the best, but it's time for the Isles to push this rebuild into 2nd gear.

Opinion: Remaining Isles UFAs/RFAs - Who to sign, who to let go?

AT: Well, with UFA period coming up and with the Isles facing a myriad of players either under RFA or UFA status, the question comes down to whether to resign certain players, whether to trade the rights to certain RFAs or whether to cut ties all togethere. Here's my breakdown:

Micheal Haley, C, UFA

AT:A name everyone in Islander-land knows, and everyone in Penguin-land wants to eviscerate from the Earth. I'm almost abnormally high on Haley Haley brought back a much needed toughness to the Isles in that infamous February brawl, and showed that if you go after our players, it will not go unnoticed. The notice being in the form of Haley's fist in your face. Haley showed he can score, he has some wheels and is a piece in this Isles team that should and will be quintessential to any future Islander playoff team.

Verdict: Re-sign, 2 years, $550K each..

CH: I like Haley, but I don't know how important he is to the future. Once you get to the fourth line, the parts are all relatively interchangeable. I think the Islanders are best served getting a fourth line veteran with playoff experience like Ryan Johnson (the Pens did this with Craig Adams via trade in 2009). Haley, in my opinion, is a depth call up type of player who can fill in when necessary, especially against division opponents.

Verdict: Re-sign, 1 year, 2-way contract for $550K

Josh Bailey, C, RFA

AT: This is a no-brainer for me in terms of resigning, the question is how much and for how long. We know the talent with Bailey is there. We saw it in the beginning of the season and in sporadic points throughout. His inconsistency was the problem. I believe Bailey will turn into a solid 55-60 point center, and could be a staple in the organization if that skill ever comes to fruition. Worst case scenario, if Garth sees things how I do, he'll draft a center in this year's draft and said center will take Bailey's place in 2 years after his deal is up. I believe in Harvey D--, er... Joshua Bailey.

Verdict: Re-sign, 2 years, 2.5m deal.

CH: Oh, the Josh Bailey argument. I'm sure there will be plenty more of that to go around here for quite a while. I like Bailey a lot. He's a great kid with great determination and it's clear he was put in a position where he could not succeed. He is only 21, but patience has to be running thin with him if this team is serious about making the next step. No team in this year's playoffs has a 25-30 point center on their top 3 lines. Either Bailey has to improve or the team has to improve. For the sake of the team, this year is put up or shut up for him.

Verdict: Re-sign, 1 year qualifier.

Blake Comeau, RW, RFA

AT: I loved what I saw from Comeau this season. Yes, there were some stretches of inconsistency, but overall I saw his game mature. However, a player like Comeau IMO is replaceable. If the right trade comes along and you need to throw in a player, I can see Comeau as the one going. I would love to keep him after his progression this year, but you can't make every player "un-tradeable".

Verdict: Re-sign, 3 years, 7-8m deal. If right trade comes along, throw in as trade chip.

CH: I completely agree with Alex here. Comeau is a very nice third line player, but in the grand scheme of things he is certainly replaceable. I wouldn't just throw him away because I'm not sure where the Islanders will be able to replace his 24 goals. Long term, I don't think he's the answer, but he definitely deserves a short-term type contract.

Verdict: Re-sign, 2 years, $4.25 million deal. 

Trevor Gillies, LW, UFA

AT: I think Trevor's a really nice guy in my interactions with him and I loved that he stuck up for his teammates, but he's a liability on the ice with his penalties. Sorry Trevor, gotta go.

Verdict: Let go.

CH: Yeah, there's no need for his on-ice shenanigans at this point. As much as I hate to admit it, he went over the top in the Pittsburgh game and to take another long-term suspension the game he got back...that's irresponsible at best. Nice guy, but nope. If the Islanders want another goon, there's plenty to go around though I don't think it's even necessary.

Verdit: Let go.

Bruno Gervais, D, RFA

AT: No. Defensive liability. Team NEEDS to improve, and he is not the way you do it, even as a 7-8 defenseman.

Verdict: Double no.

CH: Might be the nicest guy on the team, but it's time to move on. Wish him the best of luck.

Verdict: Let go.

Zenon Konopka, C, UFA

AT: I like Konopka a lot. He became a vocal leader for the team, can win important faceoffs and can chip in 10-15 points a year. Having him and Haley on the same line again would be great. Definite re-sign for me.

Verdict: Resign, 1-2 years, 600K per.

CH: This can go either way for me. I don't think the team is just going to forget Konopka if he isn't re-signed, but at the same time it's nice to have a player in the room who will stick up for anyone and everyone. Fact of the matter is though, his faceoffs are great but the rest of his game just doesn't compare well to his fourth line center competitors. He changed the culture and will forever be remembered for that if this team does well, but I think the team needs to upgrade his spot.

Verdict: Let go, reluctantly.

Jesse Joensuu, LW, RFA

AT: Would be fine for depth, but I'm indifferent either way. Wasn't impressed with the games he played.

Verdict: Re-sign for very cheap or let go.

CH: A very decent Bridgeport call-up. Not sure if he wants to stay in North America to play in the AHL though. He may decide Finland is a better option. And that's okay.

Verdict: Re-sign for a 1 year qualifier if he agrees to start in Bridgeport again.

Radek Martinek, D, UFA

AT: I like Radek. I really do. But with Ness, Donovan, possibly Wishart and of course De Haan in the system and Radek getting older, I think it might be time to part ways. Unless he's willing to sign a cheap 1-2 year deal, I'd advocate cutting him.

Verdict: Let go unless very cheaply signed for a year or two.

CH: I love Radek Martinek and appreciate the amazing amount of service time he gave to this organization over the past 10 years. But having him and Jurcina and Eaton and Mottau on the same blueline is just asking to be using Matt Campanale's again. Unfortunately, it's time to move on and get a top-4 defenseman in his spot moving Mottau down to #7 and Eaton/Jurcina as the bottom pairing where they belong.

Verdict: Let go.

AT: Finally, we have Ty Wishart, Jack Hillen and Dylan Reese. Wishart is still young and I believe will develop into a solid D-man. Hillen is good as a 7-8. Reese was pretty bad from what I saw from him. Keep, keep, let go.

CH: As far as these guys go, I pretty much agree with Alex here. Keep Wishart (you have to after giving up Roloson for him). Keep Hillen as the #8. Let Reese go, but sign some veteran AHL defensemen.